Damages from June 13 hailstorm in Dallas may be $2 billion

Insured damage from a massive 3-hour hailstorm that pummeled Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, June 13, may reach $2 billion, said the Southwestern Insurance Information Service (SIIS) on Friday. If true, this would be the fourth billion-dollar U.S. weather disaster of 2012. A cluster of three severe thunderstorms dropped hail the size of baseballs over a heavily populated area, damaging thousands of cars, puncturing skylights at a local mall, and shattering the expensive tile roofs of hundreds of homes. It was the second major hailstorm to hit the region this year; an April 3 event cost close to $500 million, and damaged 110 airplanes at the DFW airport. You can see a radar image of the June 13 storm using our wundermap with the "go back in time" feature turned on.

One of the most expensive hailstorms of all-timeThe June 13 hailstorm will rank as one of the most expensive of all-time, according to statistics of billion-dollar disasters maintained by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), and a list of damaging hail events maintained at Wikipedia. Wikipedia lists only three hailstorms in U.S. history with damages exceeding $1 billion:

1) The April 10, 2001 St. Louis, Missouri hailstorm. This costliest hailstorm in U.S. history, costing $2+ billion, struck the I-70 corridor of eastern Kansas, across Missouri, into southwestern Illinois.

2) The May 5, 1995 Mayfest Storm in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Severe thunderstorms produced hail the size of softballs, causing $1.1 billion in insured losses, and total damage of $2 billion.

3) The July 11, 1990 hailstorm in Colorado. Softball-sized hail destroyed roofs and cars, causing $625 million in total damage ($1.1 billion in damage adjusted to 2011 dollars.)

Video 1. News coverage of the June 13, 2012 hailstorm in Dallas, Texas, from local TV station News8. The aerial shots of a fog-shrouded golf course covered with ice are quite remarkable.

Six global billion-dollar weather disasters so far in 2012There have been five global billion-dollar weather disasters as of the end of May, said Aon Benfield in their latest May Catastrophe Recap. Three of these were in the U.S. With the addition of the June 13 Dallas hailstorm, the global total would rise to six and the U.S. total to four. The most expensive weather-related disaster of 2012 has been the March 2 - 3 tornado and severe weather outbreak in the Midwest and Southeast U.S., which killed 41 people and caused $3 billion in damage. The second most expensive was the severe thunderstorms and heavy rains that hit China during late April and early May, bringing flooding, landslides, and damaging hail to the Gansu, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. Over 143,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, with $2.68 billion in damage. Two other severe weather outbreaks in the U.S. topped the $1 billion mark in damages in 2012: the April 27 - 29 event in the Midwest ($1.5 billion in damage), and an April 2 - 4 severe weather outbreak in Texas that did a tremendous amount of hail damage near Dallas/Ft. Worth ($1 billion.) A fourth severe weather event, April 13 - 15 in the Plains and Midwest, is very close the $1 billion mark ($950 million in damage.) Another weather disasters that might approach the $1 billion mark is the frosts and freezes that decimated Midwest fruit trees after 2012's "summer in March" heat wave. Agricultural damage in Michigan alone has been estimated by the state to be $223.5 million--including $130 million to cherry and apple orchards. The pace and cost of billion-dollar weather disasters in 2012 is well below that of 2011, which had had fourteen billion-dollar weather disasters between January and May (nine in the U.S.) These 2011 disasters cost $73 billion, compared to the $10 billion price tag of 2012's five-billion dollar disasters from January - May.

Super Typhoon Guchol headed towards TokyoSuper Typhoon Guchol , a powerful Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds, is churning through the Western Pacific towards Japan, and is expected to pass close to Tokyo late Tuesday night local time. As Guchol approaches Japan on Monday and Tuesday morning, ocean temperatures will cool below 26°C and wind shear will increase, which should cause significant weakening of the typhoon. By the time of closest approach to Tokyo, I expect Guchol will most likely be a tropical storm, but could be a Category 1 typhoon.

The Atlantic is quietThere are no threat areas to discuss in the Atlantic today. Several models are predicting that a tropical disturbance capable of becoming a tropical depression could form in Mexico's Bay of Campeche sometime June 22 - 24.

DURANGO, Mexico - The sun-baked northern states of Mexico are suffering under the worst drought since the government began recording rainfall 70 years ago. Crops of corn, beans and oats are withering in the fields. About 1.7 million cattle have died of starvation and thirst.

Hardest hit are five states in Mexico's north, a region that is being parched by the same drought that has dried out the southwest U.S. The government is trucking water to 1,500 villages scattered across the nation's northern expanse and sending food to poor farmers who have lost all their crops.

Life isn't likely to get better soon. The next rainy season isn't due until June, and there's no guarantee normal rains will come then.

Ok, 2 crazy photos having nothing to do with each other, both happened today on Fathers day, lol.

First, is a really weird business card left on the car door of my dad's car after we came out of Red Lobster. Now why is there flowery art with butterflies on an auto shop business card is beyond me, and seriously, who could take that name seriously? lolololol

Alright second is a huge huntsman spider I caught on the bathroom wall in my house. No don't worry, I'm not holding this monster spider! And no, I don't have small hands, this is just a huge spider! It's in a glass jar and I'm holding my hand right behind it on the glass to show just how huge this one is! I've seen these huge spiders before outside but this is the biggest one I've ever seen get in the house. While they don't give a bite that can kill unless you have an allergy to it, its venom is still extremely painful, and they are very fast and very strong spiders. It is one of the drawbacks to living in tropical/semi-tropical areas!

Though at the same time, its part of why I love living here, I love the outdoors and crazy stuff like this, I caught it and let it go in the thick woods behind my house.

HPC showing what looks like a monster ridge but at the end it shows some kind of low pressure coming into picture from the west. Sorry don't know what the dashed orange lines mean. But it may help break down the ridge and draw something north?

HPC showing what looks like a monster ridge but at the end it shows some kind of low pressure coming into picture from the west. Sorry don't know what the dashed orange lines mean. But it may help break down the ridge and draw something north?

Quoting redwagon:Seriously. The models have been running with 'no' advance knowledge of this MONSTROUS RIDGING.

Something ain't right.

HPC showing what looks like a monster ridge but at the end it shows some kind of low pressure coming into picture from the west. Sorry don't know what the dashed orange lines mean. But it may help break down the ridge and draw something north?

The collapse of the Euro isn't what I am talking about, the collapse of Greece is what I'm talking about. If Greece were to leave the Eurozone, I don't remember the exact natures of what were to happen, but it was pretty bad.

Staying in the Euro isn't going to help the Greek people, but it will help people outside of Greece. Greece leaving the Euro would be bad all around (though the Greek people would be in a better position to recover). In the end, as we saw in the Middle East, the people might just get tired and rise up. No one will let Greek become a new Syria (civil war) so I have a feeling it would take only weeks for a full revolution to happen. Not much time for preparations at all.

I would not use what happened in the middle east as an example. The revolutions that occurred there where different then what your talking about. At most what will happen is the typical rioting. No armed skirmishes. The Greek government will pullout when it really has to. Even if they don't want to the EU will force them out. At this point I think it will be better if Greece just pull out on its own and not make the situation to ugly. Plus whats the point of the people rising up? What is there plan? There in a situation where I can only see 1 outcome.

Quoting lottotexas:NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX343 PM CDT SUN JUN 17 2012THE RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY OF THE ECMWF HAS THE EXTENDED LEANINGTOWARDS THIS SOLUTION CONCERNING THE LATE WEEK EVOLUTION OF THEBAY OF CAMPECHE CIRCULATION. THAT BEING OF A VERY BROAD...DIFFUSELOW SLOWLY MEANDERING MORE WEST THAN NORTH THROUGH DAY 7. THE GFSAND CANADIAN ARE NOT AS AGGRESSIVE AS IN PREVIOUS RUNS...TRENDINGMORE TOWARDS THE EURO`S MESSAGE. MONSTROUS RIDGING ENVELOPES THEU.S. PLAINS NEXT WEEKEND THAT WILL NOT ONLY SHUNT/SUPPRESS ANYTROPICAL ACTIVITY FURTHER SOUTH BUT ALSO SHUT DOWN ANY PRECIPITATION.AFTER AN ON-AND-OFF AGAIN SHOWERY START TO THE WEEK...IT MAY VERYWELL END HOT AND DRY (PRECIP-WISE). 31

Looks like SE Texas won't be getting anything from Bay of Campeche by end of the week.

Maybe not monstrous, but the Euro's ridging has consistently been quite stout to say the least.

During these last days more than a billion dollars was retired in cash....

In May alone, outflows totaled 5 billion. According to official figures, 80 billion has been withdrawn since the start of the crisis. (In Euros)

Greeks empty bank accounts ahead of historic electionPosted on June 17, 2012June 17, 2012 GREECE - Many Greeks are emptying their bank accounts out of fear that the country may return to the drachma. But most of the money is not going abroad. Instead, individuals are storing cash in safe deposit boxes or at home leading to an increase in burglaries.

Quoting redwagon:No mets have hinted at, much less mentioned, any MONSTROUS RIDGING. This just came up in the last 30 minutes. Yet my 10-day forecast, which is usually sleepy at best, picked up on it immediately.

Models are hinting at the ridge. However, the biggest problem here is the fact that the GFS model likes to develop tropical systems/storms for a week or so then all of a sudden stops.

It is extremely difficult (I will say dumb) to say where a storm will go and how strong it will be before it even develops. All we know is MANY (GFS, EMCWF, CMC, NoGap) of the models have predicted a storm somewhere between Texas and the Florida Panhandle for the last week to week and a half. Now all of a sudden a Ridge will push it into Mexico.

All we can do is wait and watch. If a storm does develop (which has a 50/50 chance based off of model guidance), the models will come to a general consensus as to where it may land.

Quoting hurricanehunter27: Nothing will occur of that magnitude out of this. Most companies and others have already moved assets appropriately for the possible collapse of the euro. Remember people have had a year for this.

The collapse of the Euro isn't what I am talking about, the collapse of Greece is what I'm talking about. If Greece were to leave the Eurozone, I don't remember the exact natures of what were to happen, but it was pretty bad.

Staying in the Euro isn't going to help the Greek people, but it will help people outside of Greece. Greece leaving the Euro would be bad all around (though the Greek people would be in a better position to recover). In the end, as we saw in the Middle East, the people might just get tired and rise up. No one will let Greek become a new Syria (civil war) so I have a feeling it would take only weeks for a full revolution to happen. Not much time for preparations at all.